Chapter 208
208. The Fox’s Grudge (2)
<Level 22: Fishing>
The fishing rod swung horizontally in a half-circle.
What appeared to be swordsmanship worthy of a highly skilled swordsman was demonstrated through the fishing rod.
Even if it was a surprise attack, its precision forced Talema to concede his arm.
“Wow, you actually dodged that?”
Black lightning flickered on the fishing rod.
I admired that, despite using the flowing power of lightning to enhance agility, I still couldn’t completely sever him.
“Seems like even being dead you’re still the leader of a military state, huh?”
“You’re not Prince Karis!”
Talema recognized I was a prince just from experiencing that swordsmanship.
It was strange enough that he suddenly attacked me, but originally, Prince Karis knew nothing of swordplay.
A person who only excelled in magic wouldn’t be able to cut off their own arm with just a fishing rod.
“I thought I had grown weak by becoming a corpse, but it seems not all is as it appears.”
I sighed regretfully and revealed my true form.
From the prince’s face, I returned to my own. Talema was shocked by the sight.
“Who are you! How did I not recognize you at once?”
“Well, you could say it’s the prince’s sponsorship.”
“Prince Karis helped you?”
“Yup. He brought me in here.”
I proudly pointed to my belly.
Talema, grasping the general meaning, suddenly burst into laughter, a wrinkle forming on his brow before he picked up the fallen arm and reattached it, as if restoring it with regeneration abilities.
“Ha ha ha! This is quite novel!”
Novel indeed. Wasn’t his reaction a bit too bland?
I expected more of a ‘You bastard!!’ but it was disappointing since the opponent was Talema.
Surely, emotions wouldn’t work on a psycho.
*
“Keheheh! I’ve waited for this moment!”
“Destroy everything!”
The beastmen invited to the festival were cheering amid the devastation.
They relished the moment they had long awaited, slowly beginning to grasp their weapons.
Their targets were the villagers.
Clang!-
Some teachers and students were blocking their threats and holding them back.
Kent Egist, who had fended off their blades, suddenly began to tremble.
“Ugh…! What’s wrong with my body?”
“Are you an idiot? Ever heard of Diablo Rain?”
“Rain…?”
Kent looked up at the sky.
Despite it not yet being night, the still-cloudy sky was darkened by thick black clouds.
Thud-
At that moment, the fleeing villagers began to fall one by one.
However, after a brief moment of confusion, Kent cautiously began to suspect these raindrops.
“Could it be because of this rain?”
“To a normal human without mana, it’s practically poison. They’ll probably die within 20 minutes!”
“What?”
“And even for those with mana… don’t get too comfortable!”
It seemed Kent was starting to feel sluggish as well.
Getting weaker from the rain was for sure. But there was something important to point out.
“Then why are you all fine?”
The beastmen were attacking people without a care in the world.
If they were hit by this rain, they should’ve been just as sluggish.
“Did you think the ones who caused it wouldn’t have any protections?”
“Damn it!”
For some reason, it seemed they had taken some kind of precaution.
Kent furrowed his brow in frustration and cried out inwardly.
‘What on earth is the Royal Family thinking, letting these bastards in!!’
Kent’s family was composed of knights defending the Empire’s border.
To defeat the enemy, you must know them. Kent, being a member of the family, was well aware of the enemies beyond the border.
‘These guys are originally… enemies wanting to threaten the Empire!’
Those enemies beyond the borders included these beastmen as well.
Currently, while the peace treaty from Prince Karis had led to some of them becoming more docile, Kent’s family disagreed with that view.
Although it wasn’t widely known, they would frequently provoke locally.
[Supply depot bombing incident.]
[Infiltration incident at the mansion managing forbidden magical device design blueprints.]
[Ambush incident on the Delaware merchant’s carriage transporting gold coins.]
[A multitude of assault incidents on the noble’s estate.]
The list of serious accusations was long enough to make anyone’s tongue stick out.
However, for the sake of the peace treaty, they had to handle things without publicly disclosing them.
They had committed serious crimes of invading territory yet received virtually light punishments. It was as if the Royal Family was being uncharacteristically lenient toward hostile forces.
‘Even the grace of the Sage Monarch has gone too far.’
Kent had a knack for observing people. He could discern what kind of tendencies someone had after seeing them once.
Just before entering Aligieri, he had a chance to visit the palace at the request of the Royal Family.
The Emperor and his children, whom he saw for the first time, looked somewhat strange.
They all had angelic faces on the surface, but somehow.
‘Don’t be fooled by those faces!’ instinctively screamed within him.
‘Except for the youngest, Princess Mirona.’
Feeling this suspiciousness was not limited to Kent’s family.
So much so that a special commando unit skeptical of the Royal Family was formed in the harsh frontier region.
However, they were reportedly annihilated by mysterious foes.
‘By the way, from that slum where the frontier set was, the Saint of Melody was born.’
There were more than just a few suspicious points.
Yet people drawn to the Emperor’s light were plentiful, so those thinking this way were often treated as fools.
However, due to the current situation, Kent was now certain.
The truth of that light was a deadly lamp, and the citizens, including himself, were mere moths drawn to that fire.
“Ha ha ha! The time for revenge against that damn Dantia has come!”
As the beastman burst out into maddened laughter, Kent felt his strength waning more and more.
The sword he held to fend off his enemy was drooping lower.
“Die!”
Ultimately, Kent was put in a precarious position, having to drop his sword.
Whoosh!-
If it weren’t for the sudden fireball that flew through the air, that is.
“Gak!”
A blazing firebird manifested.
The only students able to summon such a spirit were from the Magic Department.
“Are you okay?”
“Thanks to you, I lived. Thank you so much, Crona Delaware.”
Even though I had received help, she didn’t seem to be in the best condition either.
She looked as if she hadn’t slept for days, lacking energy.
Moreover, her spirit, Sun Red, was gradually losing its flame on its wings.
“This repays the favor from the joint training.”
Thud-
Was this just the last shot she fired? Crona spoke a few words before weakly sinking to the ground.
Not just her, but the faculty members subduing the rebellion were also beginning to lose their strength.
Moreover, the enemy consisted of more than just beastmen.
“Justice for Aligieri!”
“I’ll repay the grudge of our Elder Enviel right here!”
Even some wizards from a magical school invited to the Magical Banquet began to rampage.
The people belonging to the Yellow Magic Tower also began to sharpen their ears and engage in destruction.
They too, like the beastmen, showed no adverse effects from the rain.
All of this had been planned.
“What are you doing here?”
Professor Radian discovered them and gave support.
Although he had broad shoulders capable of carrying Kent and Crona, his strength had also diminished.
“Surely, you’re not giving up like this?”
Professor Radian spoke to uplift their spirits.
However, Kent and Crona had no choice but to feel despair.
“Professor, we’re in big trouble…”
“It’s already been 15 minutes.”
Those hit by the rain couldn’t last more than 15 minutes. By now, they must be dying.
Even now, several were already collapsing.
“Get a grip. We haven’t lost yet.”
“But…”
“Have you forgotten? Who is currently enrolled at our Academy?”
As Crona was about to ask what that meant—
-Swoosh!
Light began to shine down.
It seemed like the sun, previously covered by clouds, had reemerged, yet the sky remained unchanged.
The death-bringing rain continued to pour.
However, as light radiated through the sky, those who had fallen began to rise once more.
“Is that…!”
Nine tails appeared.
Shining as if a deity dwelled within that flesh from the sky.
A new dawn was arriving for Aligieri Town.
The revived people welcomed the miraculous morning.
“I’m starting to feel my vitality returning!”
“Is it thanks to that light?”
Not only the villagers who were on the verge of death, but also the exhausted faculty and students regained their strength.
The beastmen, bewildered by what was happening, could hardly believe their eyes as they looked to the sky.
“Look at that!”
“It’s blinding!”
“Look closely! That’s…!”
A girl with fox ears floated in mid-air.
The sight of her healing the weakened with light reminiscent of a transcendental being.
This girl, endowed with the power of a goddess, was called by the people.
“She’s the Saint!”
“Angela Whitegreen. The first beastman saint in history…!”
“But why isn’t she helping us!”
With the light emitted by Saint Angela, the people stood up once again.
The yellow energy began to flicker around the bodies of those affected by that light.
Startled by the suddenly manifesting energy surrounding them, they realized one thing with certainty.
Not only could they evade the death-bringing rain, but they felt stronger than before.
Crack…-
After that, the saint seemed to have exerted herself fully and crashed down to the ground.
Right where she fell stood the chaotic magic school members.
“How dare you interfere with us!”
They began casting offensive spells to strike the descending saint above them.
Surely the effects of the light emitted by the saint would soon vanish.
Moreover, it wasn’t as if the rain had stopped.
Boom!-
At that moment.
“Watch out!”
“Arggh!”
A crimson slash swept through and engulfed the area.
<Blood Demon Sword - Dark Wave>
The wizards seeking revenge against the saint were all swept away by that slash of blade energy.
A woman, horned and brimming with incredible strength, raised her voice.
“Professor! I’ve taken care of all the ones below!”
“Well done, Adela!”
The timely arrival of Professor Radian allowed him to catch the falling Angela in his arms.
Kent and Crona sighed in relief seeing her safely cradled in the professor’s hands.
Fortunately, Angela’s life was not in danger.
She had merely expended too much energy and passed out.
“Crona. Are you watching?”
“Yes?”
“When you took care of this child secretly in the forest during your first year, remember?”
“Yeah…”
“This is the reward for that action.”
The time spent with Angela that day caused a butterfly effect.
Without that time, Angela wouldn’t have been chosen as the saint.
Having once transformed into a monstrous fox, Crona felt grateful for Angela continuing to live on instead of giving up on her life.
“Thank you so much, Angela.”
Just as they were momentarily looking at the peacefully unconscious saint, the rain of death was still pouring down.
No matter how much they banded together, it was impossible to change the weather.
The high-ranked beings were currently confronting the external legion.
Although Angela had given them the antidote, there was no telling how long it would last.
The enemy’s plan still stood strong.
“Well done, little one. Thanks to you, we were able to regain our strength in time.”
At that moment, a woman appeared before them.
From just her appearance, there was an alluring aura about her.
“Wh-who are you!”
Kent showed vigilance toward this woman he had seen for the first time.
At that moment, Sun Red, the flame spirit appeared next to Crona and exclaimed.
『Gah…! Th-that person can’t be!!』
“What’s wrong, Sun Red?”
Sun Red, as if it had seen something it shouldn’t have, began to panic.
It was only natural for a spirit to be surprised by this woman.
『Bow your heads! Quickly!』
“Why?”
『If you wish to live, do as I say!』
The woman watched their behavior with amusement, chuckling.
“Hehe, there’s no need for that. I’m not here to harm you.”
“Who are you?”
“You probably won’t believe me just because I say so, so let’s demonstrate it through action.”
Snap!-
The woman placed her hands together in prayer.
Suddenly, small, white lights began to collect from all around the village.
Like fireflies gathering, the identity of that light was an assortment of masks.
“A fox… mask?”
“Huh? Isn’t that the product of the assassination ninja?”
“Professor, have you seen that too?”
For some reason, the masks spread throughout the village began to gather under the woman’s guidance.
They appeared to be absorbing some mysterious energy that was dispersed throughout the terrain.
“What is going on?”
“Those masks are like syringes meant to absorb the vital energy of nature that makes up this village.”
“Vital energy of nature?”
“It used to be something I could easily achieve with a gesture, but now I have to go through complicated procedures due to restrictions on my power. I spread those masks to utilize my power.”
What kind of power is she going to use? Radian questioned as the woman smiled slightly.
“I’m going to tear apart the sky shrouded in ‘death’.”
And then, stretching out her joined hands, she declared,
“I am the entity governing ‘life’.”
A silver light fused into one and surged towards the sky.
It was the moment when the spherical form of light pierced the air.
Boom!—
With the sound of tearing the atmosphere, everything happened in an instant.
Those watching could hardly speak.
The villagers and the beastmen causing this commotion all displayed their astonished expressions.
The sky, covered in black clouds, opened like a door.
Beyond it lay a beautiful night sky.
Current time: 5 PM.
In the middle of summer, it was still too early for sunset.
In the star-studded sky, a large full moon hung brightly.
“Who are you?”
Receiving that question, the woman spoke under the moonlight.
“I’m just a passing Spirit King. Nothing to worry about.”
*
“Gah… Gah…”
Since becoming a fisherman, I had never struggled this much.
The state I was in, holding the fishing rod, had left me battered and bruised.
The sheer volume assault of corpses had covered my body in wounds.
“Why not just give up? You can’t possibly take us on now.”
Biting my lip at Talema’s derision, I knew he spoke the truth.
Even having knocked down countless corpses, there seemed to be no end.
Plus, my strength was insufficient to face the leader, Talema.
“Now that would be too disappointing.”
But I grinned.
“The Eternal Flame is right before my eyes.”
Upon hearing that, Talema flinched.
That’s right; they were corpses. Without a driving force, they couldn’t move.
I was able to ascertain that driving force through ‘Mana.’
“Just what I needed, actually.”
“Guhuhuh! You’re quite the strange one!”
Talema lunged at me with a grotesque expression.
But the moment his sword seemed about to hit me, something dropped and split the gap.
The rain had ceased. No more would fall.
But just as the full moon rose… she descended in an instant.
<Divine Beast Transformation>
The girl with black hair who landed from the air radiated a mysterious aura.
With vertically slit pupils in her red eyes like that of a beast.
Perched atop an alluring face, the beast ears stood proud.
With a mature and glamorous physique, she had nine tails trailing behind her.
Holding a double-edged sword.
A hazy yet rough, beautiful sight.
Luska had transformed into a being where the term ‘mystical’ didn’t seem like an exaggeration.
“Don’t let numbers deceive you.”
With the full moon behind her, she lifted her double-edged sword.
“Because you look weak.”
To put an end to our long-standing feud.
